Fighting His Fate
by Naibu Ame
Summary: This is a tie-in based on Final Fantasy 13 13-2. Lieutenant Raian Arashi of the Cavalry is a young solider who hates the ruling Fal'cie. He is sent on the tragic mission to destroy the Sanctum Fal'cie Eden,and finds a new fate on the verge of death. Enhanced with powers rivaling a L'cie, tortured by the death of his comrades, he journeys on a mission alone;to destroy all Fal'cie
1. Chapter 1

**_Prologue:_**

**_Day 7: Palumpolum : Morning_**

**_Six days before Final Fantasy 13_**

Raian Arashi found that his uncle was a _very_ persistent man.

"Come on Raian," The large man said cheerfully, "If you're going to join the Guardian Corps, might as well go to Bodhum. It's peaceful there, and my team would be happy to train you."

Raian let out a sigh, "I know Uncle Amodar, but it doesn't feel right…"

He knew his Uncle meant well, but Raian didn't feel patrolling Bodhum was exactly his calling.

Besides, if Uncle found out about his…_occupation_…

Amodar finally left, and Raian could not help but feel a wound in his gut. He would not his uncle die in service as a Fal'cie slave. Raian took out a blue-white communications device. The phone had a burst a static before the communications officer's voice broke in, _"Please confirm." _Raian held the phone up to his ear…

"Lieutenant Raian Arashi confirms. What is the new mission?"

"_Standby…mission paramiters classified…"_ _Of course_, Raian thought, irritated.

"…_PSICOM is investigating an unconfirmed disturbance in Bodhum…" _

Of all the places…Raian was tired of hearing that name.

_"…command has dispatched you to investigate. Transport will be arriving as scheduled, out."_

Raian put his black-white special ops uniform in his backpack and headed out the door of his home. This time, he would see what PSICOM had dug up…and plant the seed to stopping it. Then the people would be safe.

In the name of the Cavalry, Raian would succeed.

* * *

**_Day 7: Noon_**

**_Bodhum Beachhead _**

Raian stood on the beach, taking in the surroundings. It was beautiful, he had to admit, but he wasn't there to enjoy it. He opened his comm-phone and dialed the Cavalry communications number.

_"Lieutenant Arashi?"_

Raian stiffened. _Rygdea! _Raian had only met the second-in-command once. Just the thought of him having tactical control of this mission...

"Sir!"

_"Listen up kid, this mission is very important. General Raines ordered you take on the mission himself..."_

Raian felt his jaw drop. _General Raines?! _He was a commando, but still...to have the General himself entrust a new lieutenant to undertake a mission Raian had no idea about...?

He regained his composure in an instant. "Understood sir! What do you need?"

Silence. _"A Vestige-Class ship is undergoing investigation by PSICOM...it's believed Pulse in origin. You are to avoid detection and confirm the ships affiliation, out."_

The call ended. Raian shook off his disbelief. Pulse Vestige or not, he needed to find out. _General Raines _needed him to find out. He could not fail. Not with the good General trusting in him.

* * *

**_Day 7: Night_**

**_Bodhum Beachhead Facility_**

Raian quietly exhaled the breath he had unconsciously held. He had found that the PSICOM grunts were _very_ stupid when it came down to spotting enemies. The common golden-brown "Wardens" were clearly the more...lower-ranking soldiers. It was the higher-end purple-black "Infiltrators" that nearly caught him. He would have been found and shot if not for PSICOM's concentration on the Pulse Vestige...which Raian found was complete Pulse origin and design. Now, he was clear of PSICOM's multiple restricted zones and just had to get to the dock...conveniently located on the other side of the _lighted_ (much to his displeasure) beachhead resort mall building. Raian rounded the corner of the corridor that would lead him to the dock...

And ran straight into a female Guardian Corps officer.

Raian jumped back. _Dammit! Of all the people to find me! _Then he realized just _exactly _who it was. A female Bodhum Security Regiment Sergeant around his age...just like Uncle Amodar's subordinate.

Sergeant Lightning Farron.

"Damn!" Raian cursed. Lightning pointed her quick-drawn gun-blade right at his head. "Who are you?!" Raian froze. She had him in a superior position, where he could not do so much as move. "Calm down..." Raian, in his _great_ wisdom, had an unconcealed pistol holstered on his left hip.

Not your ordinary civilian.

Lightning didn't seem in the generous mood, and time was running out for his ride. Raian looked at the sergeant, and sighed.

The sad tone in his voice was clear...Lightning didn't know why he seemed more sad than afraid of being shot...

Raian looked regretfully at his uncle's sergeant.

"Sorry."

Lighting saw him grab a hilt from his right hip...which ejected segments of metal from within. _A retractable baton?!_

Raian batted the gun-blade away from him, stepped up and swung at Lightning neck...a disabling tactic.

The sergeant, however dodged and brought her sword to bear.

They clashed weapons, keeping each other at blade's length, until finally Raian slipped around and landed a strike at the back of her neck.

Lighting felt herself drop. The solider almost killed her...just enough force on spine would have done that.

"Sorry..." The Lieutenant ran off...

* * *

Raian made to the dock. The pilot seemed to think two minutes late meant he'd failed..._Which I __probably did._

That sergeant...the memory of that hateful look on her face shook him.

The small transport launched, leaving Raian alone in his thoughts.

* * *

**_Day 8: _****_Morning_**

**_The Lindblum_**

Home. The Cavalry cruiser-airship was a great sight to behold.

Raian stepped on the platform where Rygdea was waiting.

"The General is waiting in the war room, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir."

Raian moved out of the hangar, through the hallway, and into the war room.

He stood at attention.

"General, Lieutenant Raian Arashi, sir!"

General Raines stood on the opposite side of the room, back to the door. He was nothing but majestic in his blue-white general's uniform.

"Please, take a seat. I trust you found the origin of the craft?"

"Yes sir, it is clearly of Pulse origin."

Raines turned towards Raian, "Good...I honestly should have sent someone with more experience, but I hear you managed to evade PSICOM. For that you have my thanks."

Raian looked down, "Sir...a Bodhum Security officer confronted me on the way to the transport..."

Raines lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? What did you do?"

"The officer had a gun-blade pointed at me, so I disabled her with a strike to the neck with my baton."

Raines stared directly at him. His eyes seemed to find the truth from Raian's lack of comfort. "You knew her?"

"Y-yes sir, she is my uncle's subordinate..."

Raines relaxed his stare, "I see...Arashi, thank you for your honesty. I'm sure since your uniform was not Cavalry, we will be fine. Please accept my humblest apologies for making you go through that. Dismissed."

"Sir!" Raian saluted and left. On his way back, he could not feel more honored.

General Raines truly was a good and truthful man.


	2. Chapter 1: Revelation

_**Chapter 1: Revelation**_

_**The Lindblum **_

_**En route to transport L'cie to the Sanctum Flagship, the Palamecia**_

Raian followed Rygdea to the hijacked PSICOM ship. There was four L'cie to bring to the Sanctum _Palamecia. _Raian already knew the Pulse L'cie Fang; she had proven a great ally to the Cavalry…but the other three were a mystery to him. He did not have the courage to ask his new commander. Rygdea had become more of a friend than a superior, but Raian knew he was lucky see the L'cie at all.

The L'cie had become the gossip of the Cavalry's men ever since Fang joined with them. This had escalated with the arrival of the other three L'cie. Rumor had it that they had taken on a Ushumgai Subjugator, a heavy assault unit stationed in Raian's hometown of Palumpolum. He rather doubted it. That red monster could kill anything it really wanted to.

Raian entered the hangar…and saw _Lightning_ there.

_She's a L'cie?! _

Lightning spotted him instantly. "You!"

Raian hid his shock, "Welcome to the Cavalry; I am Lieutenant Raian Arashi."

The L'cie stopped. "Lieutenant Amodar's nephew?!"

Rygdea introduced Raian to the other two L'cie:

Snow, who was a young man who probably got himself into more trouble he needed; he was too…_optimistic_ about the mission. Raian hoped that Snow's powers would help him stay alive in his battles.

The second l'cie, Hope was just a child who looked around twelve. That hurt him. _A kid?! _The Fal'cie were truly monsters.

They lifted off and departed. Raian had decided to stay on the _Lindblum _and get some rest. The L'cie were a more diverse group than he had imagined.

Instantly his mind made him snap to attention…as General Raines passed.

"Ah, Lieutenant Arashi, did the L'cie already leave?"

"Yes sir, I just came back."

Raines looked disappointed. "Ah, I see…still, can I ask something important of you?"

"Of course sir!"

Raines relaxed, "There is a package I need delivered to my office in a week. Rygdea is too busy with more important matters, so I can only trust you with this. I'll be leaving soon to debrief the L'cie on their mission, so I have to ask you."

Raian could not have felt more honored by Raines words. "Consider it done sir!"

Raines gave Raian a gentle smile. "Thank you, Raian." He walked off.

* * *

_**A week later...**_

_**The Lindblum**_

Raian took the package from the two shipping pilots. The package itself was a data-log, turned off. He went down the hallway and into Raine's quarters. He placed the data-log on a desk... and it turned on.

"Oh come on, turn off!" Raian didn't want to have explain that he knew classified information...

Then the impossible happened.

The Sanctum symbol displayed on the data-log, explaining that the L'cie were to face Primarch Dysley, whose true indentity was a Fal'cie known as Barthandelus. Raian flipped through a later entry, and there was General Raines signature on a message to Dysley...

A traitor. _General Raines _was a traitor...

Now the Bodhum op. made sense. Raines already knew the Vestige was from Pluse, he just needed an excuse to know. He could have easily just said Raian was killed by PSICOM after he confirmed the design of the Vestige...but Raian didn't die...so why show him this data-log?

He heard footsteps, not like the clanking patrol solders...

More like someone who didn't want to be heard...

Raian heard two gunshots; he grabbed his pistol and ran outside.

The two pilots laid dead, assault rifles in their hands.

Rygdea looked at him, a pistol in hand. "You alright, kid?"

"General Raines is a traitor; look at this..." Raian handed the data-log to the dumbfounded Rygdea.

As he read, Rygdea's look darkened, until he threw the data-log on the ground in his rage.

_"Damn_ him! I can't believe..._him of all people_!"

* * *

**_That night..._**

**_The Lindblum troop hall_**

The terrible news had spread like wildfire. Everyone in the Cavalry was shocked. Now they were gathered in front of their new leader, Rygdea. He spoke:

"Troops, as you already know, we have been betrayed by our General. We must not allow this act to go unpunished. Tomorrow our army will descend on our capital Eden to destroy the Sanctum Fal'cie. Tomorrow we will free the people!"

The Cavalry troops cheered. They had enough evil from the Fal'cie...and tomorrow they would end it.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: The Fallen Soldiers…**_

_**Moments before dawn**_

_**Capital city of Cocoon, Eden**_

_**The Lindblum**_

The _Linblum _was in the clouds above Eden, waiting to send its army to the ground.

Rygdea and Raian looked at the city below…home to the new _Primarch Raines_.

That had made everyone's blood boil; the thought of another false leader controlling the people disgusted the Cavalry, making anyone unsure of Raines's traitorous acts see the light.

In a way, Raines had made the Cavalry stronger, a united force against him. Raian was now a Captain, and now equipped with a ManaDrive , a device to produce magic effects similar to a L'cie's power.

Raines address played through the speakers:

"_People of Cocoon, my fellow citizens…"_

The race would begin shortly. There was always a race for the Primarch Ceremony.

"_..with these hands, we will shape the future!"_

"Please don't tell me it's _his_ hands making the changes." Raian and the Cavalry were going to "shape the future"…_their_ way.

Raines snapped his fingers, and the riders flew off.

Then, a green symbol appeared in the night sky…much like the _Sanctum_ symbol.

A ship flew out dropping…the _six L'cie!_

The ship almost took out a rider…who was saved by Snow and two Eidolons…

Snow threw his hands up at the cheering crowds,

"_Oh no, you're too kind…!"_

Then the screen magnified on his L'cie brand, and turned the crowd's cheering into screams of terror.

_Idiot…_ Raian found that his earlier assumption about Snow causing trouble was correct.

The L'cie engaged the security forces, a perfect distraction…

"Sir!" Raian then saw Rygdea already deploying the troops. Raian smiled, "A step ahead as always, sir."

Then the unthinkable happened…Pulse machines and creatures swarmed from inter-world portals called Trans-gates, and rampaged through the streets of Eden.

Rygdea turned to Raian, "Arashi, I need you to go with the ManaDrive Squad and take out Eden, while the rest of Cavalry gets the civilians to safety…I might go pay our great Primarch Raines a visit.

Raian snapped to attention, "Yes sir! Consider the Fal'cie gone!"

Raian ran to the hangar.

This was the end for Fal'cie.

* * *

_**Noon**_

_**Edenhall, city of Eden**_

The front gate to the Edenhall Plaza blew open. Raian and the Manadrive squad took cover behind two lines of metal detector checkpoints. Too much screeching. The Sanctum Seraphs went down first, their close-combat weapons no match for the surprise of 12 Manadrive Ruinga attacks, the gray magic explosions detonating everywhere. The Sanctum Archangels brought their rifles to bear. The plaza area became a storm of bullet crossfire.

Raian spotted two Sanctum Celebrants on a catwalk above the steps where the Archangels where firing. The one on the right aimed his RPG-like bazooka at Raian.

"Incoming!" The bazooka was too fast him to dodge. The explosion knocked him down. He somehow didn't die…in fact he felt half dead at most.

The ManaDrive sergeant pulled Raian to his feet with a grin. "Captain Arashi, never heard of the spell Protect before?"

Truthfully, he hadn't. With the few hours, he had only mastered two spells.

"Hey, Sergeant, can your men hit the six Arcs' at each flank?"

The man looked at Raian, "Yeah…you mind telling me what you're going to do with the three in the middle?"

Raian thought of what Snow had done earlier that day…and smiled, "You'll see."

The sergeant wasn't happy with that answer.

Raian casted Haste, which allowed for twice the physical speed. Not enough to dodge the bullet storm, but it would help him against the bazookas.

He called to the sergeant, "Suppress the flank riflemen!"

"Yes sir!" the sergeant shouted at his men, "You heard him, suppressing fire on those flanks!"

The ManaDrive Squad opened fire. Raian ejected his metal baton and casted his second spell, Enthunder. Electricity crackled over the baton.

Raian sprinted at the three guards, cutting down the first two as he ran past, and slicing down the third. He grabbed the baton with his palm up, the weapon pointed forward. He flung it like a javelin at the Celebrant on the right, and then he whipped around and fired six shots at the left Celebrant, one eventually hitting the exposed rocket and blowing the solider skywards. This all took about seven seconds.

Raian saw his baton fall from the electrocuted solider…right into the right-flank Archangel squad, which all had rifles being turned toward him. A half-dozen Ruinga spells hit each flank. The sergeant came up to him, grim.

"You know, you'd be dead if it weren't for our ManaDrives recharge."

Raian nodded. Maybe taking ideas from Snow _was _a bad idea…

He took his baton from the ground, and ran after the squad as they sprinted down the Grand Foyer.

* * *

_**Edenhall**_

Raian ran out of the Grand Foyer into the main complex of Edenhall. It was a brightly lit chamber, filled with crystal particles. He was at the left end of the U-shaped complex, with Eden in the building at the center. The ManaDrive Squad was in combat with a group Sanctum Inquisitrix, close-combat fighters who used ManaDrives for speed and power.

Raian ran to meet them, when a Sanctum Templar, a huge solider with a staff, came down at him from a balcony to the right. The Templar laughed, since he clearly had the advantage. He was stronger and probably faster…

Raian had to act. He knew only one way to kill his opponent. He had only mastered two spells, but that didn't mean he _couldn't _use others…

Ruinga was the basic heavy spell that the Cavalry knew, but Raian could not control it. It would go sideways before he even aimed. That's why, instead of the heavy spell Ruinga, he opted for Watera, which would set up the attack.

The Templar charged, and Raian slid past him, launching Watera. Raian jumped from his sliding position, turned in mid-air, and used his newly Enthunder-enhanced baton to slash at the soaked Templar. The water exploded, knocking Raian back while the Templar turned.

Raian looked up at his enemy. _Damn, didn't even stun him!_

A trans-gate opened, and a Pulse Tyrant-class centurion charged out. The Templar turned and faced. Raian stumbled to his feet, "Right, you two have fun then…"

Still, where in the world did that Tyrant come from…?

Things weren't adding up…a Pulse army made of creatures couldn't just be warped from Pulse by a trans-gate, and not without arousing their anger. No, they came from Cocoon, and somebody should have noticed that…just like the Pulse Vestige…

The Fal'cie..._but why kill their own troops…?_

Raian eyes widened. He didn't know their plan, but the Fal'cie definitely wanted the Cavalry to attack…and attacked they had, so there was only one reason to let them live for so long.

The Fal'cie Eden and Orphan were bait. _For the Cavalry._

Raian had to get to his troops. They were already at Orphan's Cradle. Raian tried to use his radio, but it had no signal there. _Very convenient._

Raian rushed into the building where a portal stood. He jumped in.

* * *

**_…Orphan's Cradle…_**

_**Exact Location and Time…Unknown…**_

Raian stood in a room which reminded him of a cathedral. Arches everywhere. He saw the ManaDrive Squad.

"Sergeant, we half to fall ba-"

The Fal'cie illusion wore off. They were Cie'th. _All of them._

Raian staggered back…

"_Damn Fal'cie!"_

One of the Cie'th casted a spell on Raian…everything became a spiraling black. Then he felt pain. Overwhelming pain. His vision cleared. Has was laying there, his entire right leg scarred, his armor destroyed. _What the hell was that?!_

The Cieth slumped toward him…

Then, a blue patterned triangle appeared on the ceiling. A black blast of energy came down at the floor, knocking down the Cie'th. Out of the energy mist, an enormous one-edged blade tip spun in a circle around the floor, grinding the masonry. The tip gathered electricity, striking each Cie'th down in a blue shower of sparks.

The blade tip stopped and instantly the mist vanished to reveal an Eidolon, clad in black armor that was like a knight's wear. The Eidolon had a long, oval-shaped helmet with a blue visor that came from the top of the oval to the front. Streams of blue energy flowed in the spaces the armor made. His Right forearm and hand was a black sword, streaked with a blue line.

The Eidolon casted a bright blue projectile at Raian. Raian didn't feel pain, but refreshment. He looked down at his leg. Not even a scar. Raian knew of the ManaDrive spell Cure, but this was incredibly more powerful. _But what does an Eidolon want with me? They only come to L'cie._

Writing appeared in Raian's vision: _You are one of Her Divineness's chosen._

"Her Divineness? Who is that?!"

The Eidolon did not answer his question. Instead, Raian's vision of everything blurred but the writing. 

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

**_Disclaimer_****_: I do not Final Fantasy 13 or 13-2_**

**_3 days, whew! Took me way too long to write this one..._**

**_Thanks for the reviews! I'm extremely glad people are enjoying this so far!_**


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